Opie Cates was born in 1909.
Opie was not actually short for anything. It was said that he was named after Opie Cates, a musician. Opie was portrayed by Ron Howard.
According to Ron Howard himself, who once explained the origin of the name to Jay Leno, Opie was named after bandleader and actor Opal “Opie” Taft Cates, a popular clarinetist from swing-era Arkansas.
Opie is a full name it is not short for anything. There are two explanations of the name's origin. One is that Opie Taylor was named by Andy Griffith after bandleader and radio actor Opie Cates.[1][2] The other is that he was named for Opie Shelton (1915-1999), a childhood friend of Griffith, who went on to become president of the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce.
Amelia Opie died in 1853.
Redvers Opie died in 1984.
Richard Cates died in 2011.
John Opie died on 1807-04-09.
Eli Cates died on 1964-05-29.
William Finnic Cates died in 1942.
Eugene Lindsay Opie died on 1971-03-12.
Clifton B. Cates died on 1970-06-04.